Walgreen introduces Foursquare mobile couponing

The ad circular is inching ever closer to irrelevance as companies increasingly turn to mobile couponing — and Walgreen Co. is racing to target on-the-go consumers before competitors get to them.

The Deerfield-based drug giant — the the first national advertiser on Foursquare nearly a year ago — said Tuesday that it has joined with the location-based social network to send instant, scannable coupons to customers' phones when they check in at any Walgreens store. No response, text or any action is required to unlock the coupon.

Walgreen is the first retailer to offer the program, the company said, and there's a limit of one coupon per customer for each deal released. The first coupon, available now through March 10, is for 50 percent off all varieties of Arizona Iced Tea cans.

"We're using mobile technology and social media to better engage Walgreens customers, to give them convenient channels to interact with us and to deliver products, services and savings they truly value," Sona Chawla, Walgreen's president of e-commerce, said in a statement.

Walgreen introduced (non-Foursquare) mobile coupons in November and said it has the most Foursquare followers of any retailer in the U.S.

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